Looking through your eyes
by KrypticKlaws
Summary: Kiba's down in the dumps. With everyone else paired up, he's left alone... that is, until he teams up with a girl who helps him back to his feet to see through different eyes. Original Character. Post Timeskip.
1. Lonley Days in Konoha

Alright, so this is my first fic. Don't be too hard on me! But please review and tell me what you think! More chapters will be forthcoming – if this doesn't bomb entirely.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own or claim to own any of the Naruto characters, but I do claim ownership of my Original "Naruto-verse" Character, Tsuka Toriikata (and Daisuke).

It was eventually going to happen, but Kiba Inuzuka had often crossed his fingers in the hope that it would fade from memory before it made its way into the daylight. Unfortunately for him, after a short "exploratory" excursion with Sakura, 17 year old Naruto had finally realized that he and Hinata perfectly complimented each other. They hit it off and had been seen together frequently ever since.

Kiba sighed inwardly, reaching over to scratch his now wolf-size dog at the nape of his shaggy neck. He had been dropping hints towards Hinata for a while now, but her infatuation with that hyperactive orange ninja had pulled through in the end.

It wasn't that he wasn't happy for them. In spite of his own affection to his prior teammate, he had always been more of an older brother to her than an actual peer. Kiba had just been starting to feel the spring in the air, and the squeeze it put on all of them. Once Sasuke returned from his mission, love had blossomed up left and right. Sakura was now living more often at Sasuke's house than her own after she warmed him up. Ino and Shikamaru had some sparks flying between them, and even Choji and Neji had been seeing some special girls lately. And while Kiba couldn't ask for a better companion than Akamaru, he still felt an ache for some female attention somewhere inside him.

Gritting his semi-fanged teeth and shaking his thoughts off his shoulders, Kiba rose back up and trudged back downhill to the Inuzuka residence, dog in tow, avoiding the small patch of dogbane some idiot – likely Naruto – had planted in his family's garden as a practical joke. Ruffling the heads of each of the triplets, his sister Hana's three dogs, Kiba meandered back up to his room, thoughts stealing back into his mind and reminding him of his lackluster life. Collapsing with a groan and a sympathetic whine from the dog at the foot of his bed, Kiba snarled and tried to sleep it off.

…

"Kiba! Get down here you lazy idiot! There's a mission scroll for you. Do it right this time! We're running low on kibble and it's your turn to buy!" Kiba's mom, Tsume, growled up the staircase, her husky voice obviously exasperated with her usually exuberant son.

"Yeah. I gotcha… kibble. Right," Kiba aroused himself slowly, combing through his shaggy hair with his fingers and blinking slowly. He wandered down the stairs slowly, catching his balance once, and grunting as Akamaru hit his knees behind him. Jumping down the rest of the flight, he reached the dining room table and snatched the scroll waiting for him.

Still mostly asleep, Kiba flicked the seal of his new mission scroll open. Tracking. Not like that was anything new. It seemed like his whole life was just chasing after things now.

**Object: Track and Locate three mist village spies. Retrieve items held in their possession. Call for backup from ANBU and interrogate.**

Then followed a short description of the three targets; two males, one female, not much else- and, unfortunately, no scent samples. But reading further along the scroll brought a curious frown to his face.

**Team: Kiba Inuzuka, Tsuka Toriikata.**

The name was completely unfamiliar to him, but that wasn't his biggest concern; why was he teamed up? For Kiba's kind of tracking missions, having someone else along was more of a hinderance than help. No matter though. He would talk to the Fifth and convince her that Tsuka, whoever they were, was not going help this mission succeed.

And there you have my first chapter! Please review…. Peas?

Once again, Naruto is not owned by me, and I don't claim to own it. I do however, own the character Tsuka Toriikata.


	2. Files

Once again – no owning of Naruto-ness by me. Tsuka and Dai are mine though. Hope you like.

BTW, I am writing a hard copy, and I'm about 5-7 chapters ahead in that. There's plenty to this story!

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Heaving himself up from his sitting position, Kiba started to pack. A lightweight blanket, a few days worth of food for himself (as well as depleteing the rest of the kibble for Akamaru) blah, blah, blah, typical stuff. Kiba moved on, getting a few changes of clothes, his collapsible tent, and most importantly, tracking equipment and fresh kunai and shuriken. Hoisting the full pack to his shoulders, and remembering to snag the adapter so Akamaru could carry it in case, Kiba tied his headband on through his shaggy dark hair and went to go convince Tsunade.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Ah, Kiba, glad you're here," Tsunade motioned him and the dog in, brushing off a rather irritated Shizune. Apperantly the Fifth was doing one of her least favorite jobs: paperwork.

Kiba started to open his mouth, but before the words got past his chest, the Hokage cut him off.

"Hear me out Inuzuka – I know you're here because you 'don't need' a partner, but this person I have you with may prove pretty useful where you aren't." She smiled hopefully, age and stress noticeably tiring her. Whatever, Granny Tsunade didn't need any crap from him, so why not? Kiba shrugged and submitted to her will.

She looked relieved as she handed Kiba two rather thin ninja files. Two? Kiba started to speak again in protest, but once again the irritable old lady cut him off.

"Yes. There's two. You'll figure it out. Just read 'em and report back at three o'clock for debriefing." Tsunade rolled her eyes and ushered him out of the door with her hand, and painstakingly turned back to the paperwork.

Outside, Kiba and Akamaru sat down on a bench outside the Hokage's office, and, settling himself down to read for the 15 or so minutes he had, the shinobi opened the larger of the two files to the first page.

A blush crept over his red-marked cheeks as he stared at the picture in the left-hand corner. A pretty blond kunoichi grinned back, her features delicate, but with a ferocity and wildness that was totally contrary to Hinata's face. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about her seemed odd… inhuman maybe.

Shaking himself free of the picture, he scanned the rest of her file. She was 17, and had graduated at age 11, so she was a little ahead of Kiba in "official ninja" years. She sheepishly looked to see if anyone was around, then tried in vain to see if the file listed her measurements. No such luck. _Stupid dog. Get your mind out of the gutter, damn it._

She had a pretty impressive mission record, her statistics were well rounded, with high scores in tactics; O blood type, but it seemed like these ninja files weren't as foolproof as they were thought to be. Someone had obviously made a typo on her vision notes though. Kiba himself had 20/20 vision, but this girl's eyesight was, according to the file, over 20 times that good. That was close to **Byakugan** scoring. It was just impossible. Kiba shrugged – he could bring it up with the Fifth later.

The dog boy had wanted to find out more about this mystifying girl (why was she such an improvement to his tracking skills?), but as he reached for the second file, Akamaru tugged at his pant leg. It was three already, and time to head back in. Scooping up the files, the teen and dog headed back into Tsunade's lair.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thus introduces – somewhat, at least – the OC. Hope I kept your interest up!


	3. Of Fur and Feathers

Once again, blah, blah, usual stuff…. Here's Tsuka. Hope you like her. Oh, and Kiba's a little mood-swingy here. Must be hormones.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When Kiba opened the door to the Hokage's office, another figure was already inside, speaking with the head ninja. The person stood in the shadow behind the door, abnormally tall and oddly shaped.

"Ah Kiba, come on in here and meet Tsuka." Tsunade smiled as the shadowy ninja turned around, and Kiba stood face to face with the girl in the picture – her features hidden under the body of an enormous bird, dusty black and brown, blindfolded and talons clamped to the girl's forehead protector on her shoulder, preening like it belonged there, astride the slender teen.

Tsuka was exactly as Kiba had imagined from her picture, once he got over the shock of her huge avian companion. She was about four inches shorter than him (not counting the eagle, obviously), with straw-blond hair, the top half of her hair was pulled back messily and accented with a few feathers, and the rest fell down to her armpits. Tsuka was slim, yet muscular, with loose fitting clothes that still accented her trim figure. But what entranced Kiba most were her eyes. Green and blazing, her eyes displayed her fierce pride and energy, but also her intelligence. Her pupils were slit, and suddenly Kiba grasped where her wild air came from; just like his own eyes.

"Tsuka," the blond Hokage motioned to the dog-nin, "This is Kiba Inuzuka. Kiba, say hello to Tsuka Toriikata." Tsunade grinned, obviously noting the blush the normally extroverted Kiba wore. "Tsuka is a nin-bird user, and this is her partner… What was it again?"

"Daisuke," The girl smiled at Kiba, her voice calm, almost windy sounding. The bird screeched happily at the sound of his name, arching his wings defiantly.

"And I…I use dogs… Um… This is A-a-akamaru." Kiba stuttered, and the blond girl responded with a giggle – it was reminiscent of bird song in some ways – to his blunder.

Kiba stretched his hand forward, and offered one of his fanged smiles, still shy around this new kunoichi.

"P-pleased to be working with ya." He croaked out, voice breaking mid-sentence.

"You too. This seems like an excellent arrangement." She grinned, eyes closing and her crooked smile beaming.

Tsunade coughed – she was still there, after all. Bending back down to her paperwork, she gave them the details on the mission. Kiba caught himself daydreaming, but snapped back near the end of her lecture.

"Tsuka will be leading – I hope you don't mind Kiba…" Tsunade look at him from under her shaggy blond bangs, fully expecting the sudden distaste infecting his eyes. Kiba snarled a little; irritated at the idea of being at the whim of some girl his own age that he had never worked with. Kurenai he could deal with, but Kiba worked his tracking missions independently, and having orders from someone else who didn't know his working style seemed like a quick way to make the mission fail.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kiba's sour mood seeped through him quickly and entirely. Shoving his hands deep in his pockets as they left the building, he grumbled and started walking ahead of his new "partner". He moved off towards the village entrance, eager to get this over with, a confused Akamaru in his angry wake.

Tsuka didn't quite understand her new partner – he was smart, talented as a ninja (at least according to records) – and a perfect match to her own and Daisuke's abilities. So why was he so offended by being teamed up with her? Nothing could be more productive towards the mission… Tsuka brushed it off her mind, instead focusing on the task in front of her. If Kiba co-operated with her tactics, she would be able to have Daisuke scout while they kept track from the ground. Tsuka had been following Kiba's file for a while, and she had come up with all sorts of scenarios, options and patterns that would triple their individual efficiency if Kiba just stuck to the plan.

Kiba reached the wide gate that marked Konoha before his avian teammate, already fed up with her and her stupid turkey. He had been dwelling on it all the way through town, and he still didn't like this Bird-brain up and closing in on his mission market. Kiba got to work though, and Akamaru with him, studying the sea of scents for something unfamiliar. He knew the scents of all Konoha ninja by heart, even if he didn't know their faces. Naruto had been by recently – and Lee and Gai, their sweat stank like nothing else. The air was muddy with the odor – too many people. Sighing, Kiba opened his eyes again. With no sample scent and no leads – he was basically blind.


	4. What does seeing have to do with it?

Again – I don't own Kiba, Naruto, or anything like that. I just have Tsuka.

* * *

Sniffing again, Kiba caught another scent closing in. He grimaced and closed his eyes, wishing it would all go away.

"You do realize we're a team, right Inuzuka?" The blonde kunoichi stood ten feet away – the damned chicken of hers was perched up on the arch that marked Konoha's exit. Her expression was a mixture of irritation and curiosity, which, while typical for her, was hard for anyone else to read at first.

The dog-nin scoffed, still with his back facing Tsuka. "Some team – I work my tracking alone… I don't _need_ you." Kiba hesitantly started to turn around from his hunched position, but twisted back to avoid her curious, penetrating looks.

"With no sample scent? No trails? I know how you work, Inuzuka. You're as blind as a newborn puppy." She shook her head a little – not so much of a disapproval as it was just a twitch. "You need my abilities, Inuzuka… Though I bet you don't even know what I do." Tsuka sighed and dropped to her knees – to all appearances scraping in the dirt out of frustration.

"I don't care. And you're _not_ going to help me. I've done tracking since my first day as a genin – I work alone. And I definitely don't work with a chick my own age in charge." Kiba eased to his feet, and started to walk off, but when his cream shadow didn't follow, he ended up having to turn around, much to his dislike.

Akamaru was sniffing at Tsuka's hands, making snuffling noises at her drawing, and whining that he couldn't exactly understand it. The simple diagram was doodled in the dirt under her – two ninjas, dog and bird.

Her messy scribble pictured the kunoichi seated on the big dog, the bird in the air above, and Kiba leading.

The stick figures weren't pretty, but they displayed her intentions. Tsuka nodded to herself as she finished up, confident as she worked it out in her mind.

"So… You're not going to do anything but ride on Akamaru? Some Ninja." Kiba was now over her shoulder, his slit eyes inspecting her crude drawing with a bitter resignation.

"So you really didn't hear about my ability?" She blinked up at him as he nodded, as if the fact were obvious. "I'm like you – an animal user – I do more than look pretty." Kiba rolled his eyes and scoffed, while the blonde scowled up at him, her eyes bright and somewhat irritated. Already with the high and mighty, eh?

"So. What do you do? Fly?" Kiba snorted, ruffling Akamaru's head, and returning the kunoichi's glare with a skeptical look. The eagle above screeched a little, flapping his wings and launching into the air, and soaring over to land on a lower branch on a nearby tree, his feathers ruffled.

"Okay, I'll give you three guesses as to why Daisuke's blindfolded." The girl pulled herself up, dusting her pants off.

"Dai… Oh, your bird, right? Lessee… He's scared of dogs?" Kiba offered half-heartedly, his shoulders shrugging and obviously not interested.

"Nope. Probably would be more the other way… birds his size can take down deer."

"He's an Aburame."

"Funny – but wrong. Dai's a Toriikata through and through." She smiled again, and a little of Kiba's tension melted away – at least she had a good attitude...

"It has to do with you, right?" She nodded affirmative. "I honestly have no idea." He said simply, taking a step closer, eyes narrowed in scrutiny.

"Tell me. What is it you do?" Kiba smiled a little, teasing her. He was unconsciously warming up to his new partner… but it wasn't all that hard when she was so warm herself.

"I'll show you." She said as she turned up to the raptor. "Dai! C'mere." She extended her forearm, which the dog-nin noted was wrapped in leather with a layer of metal on top. It seemed like she was some sort of human perch.

The bird coasted down from his branch, landing on her arm with a soft thump. He screeched happily – flapping his wings a little.

Tsuka turned back around to face her partner, the bird still standing on her arm. "Well – you and your dog smell… We, well… See."

"See? See what? The future or something? Ooh…" He laughed bitterly, smiling and displaying his fang-like canines.

"You don't get it! By concentrating chakra to our eyes like you do to your nose, Daisuke and I have vision twenty times that of a normal human!" She pouted a little – her face scrunched up. Kiba figured she was just a wee bit exasperated – but he liked pushing her buttons.

"That still doesn't explain -"

"I WAS GETTING TO THAT!"

"… Er. Go ahead then. I'm curious."

Tsuka heaved a deep breath – regaining her usual cool and collected voice. "We share the same vision 'plane'" She stated simply, as if it were obvious.

"Huh?"

"Just watch, dang it!"

Kiba smirked a little – Yeah, her buttons were _fun _to push. Tsuka ripped the blindfold off the bird, closing her eyes as he opened equally bright ones, though amber in color. She paused a little bit, and Kiba realized she was building up chakra.

"Hold up some fingers or something…" Tsuka commanded, eyes still shut tight.

"Why? Did I miss something?" Confused, Kiba complied, lifting up seven fingers – though he was still confused what "seeing" had to do with closing her eyes.

"I'm proving to you that I can see through Daisuke's eyes." She replied, her voice clear and calm again. "Seven, by the way."

"Oh, I get it! He sees through your eyes and you see through his, huh?" Kiba grinned – so she wasn't useless after all… And he had figured it out mostly on his own. He deserved a gold star for that one. Totally.

"Yup. But if both our eyes are open at the same time… things get dizzy."

"I can only imagine… So are, um… are we a team now?" Kiba wondered aloud; his voice cautious so Tsuka didn't feel out of sorts. It seemed rather the opposite.

"Yup! A team!" She flashed another wide grin, then took the lead as she sped off, bird, boy, and dog close behind.

* * *

Hope you liked! I'm trying to even out Kiba's mood. After all, he's not very in-character, yet. But depression will do that to ya! Review please! 


End file.
